Small World
by Yuruya
Summary: Travelling the world is fun, but if you lack the sense of direction and suck at communicating,.. not so much fun. Follow Yelena as she embark on her journey to do crazy stuffs while she rants like a kid. Meeting new and old people, making friends, and probably even fall in love ! (HIATUS)
1. Prologue

**Author's note: Heya~! This will be my first fanfic ever! So uh.. early apologies if this turns out rather.. suck-ish. English is not my mother tongue, so there may be some grammatical errors hidden somewhere here and there.**

**(I'm actually surprised that my 1st fic would be non-persona stuff) Oh well, I'll try to do one when I feel like it. This is supposed to be a one-shot, but it strayed off from the main plot so.. um…**

**Well, Enjoy!**

**P.S. Advices about the story will be highly welcomed! :)**

* * *

I've always had trouble sleeping at night, especially when I'm fatigued and restless. But now, it was exceptionally worse.  
My head throbs when I don't sleep, and yet whenever I try to close my eyes,  
I always have this sinking feeling that makes me want to stay awake. The feeling when you're falling off a cliff,  
or being dragged down into an abyss; I meant that sinking feeling. I wouldn't wonder why though. I blame it all on jetlag.

I'm in a plane, on my way to Japan to spend my summer vacation with my uncle. We're not that close—okay so maybe we were back then—but that's not  
the reason why I'm going. I actually go to Japan every summer vacation ever since I was little. Both of my parents are…_ hardworking_ people, to the point that they wouldn't have much time to spend with me. But no worries, no hard feelings, I totally understand why they do that. I mean, my Dad's a surgeon who serves in the military and my Mom's a lawyer. I'd be dead-stupid to say that they never were busy, which is why I'm stuck with my uncle (not that I don't like him or anything).

_'Japan huh...'_ I thought while twirling my index finger in my headphone's wiring. The last time I'd been there… it wasn't pretty. I had fun though;  
I was able to do a lot of stuff I wasn't able to back then; like cutting classes, making enemies, doing self-defense, and a ton of other stuffs.  
I had nothing to regret. Though, if I have to choose one, it'd be the one when I didn't get to ask _his_ name. I wonder if I'd get to see him again one day.

I'm really excited to go back to Japan. I must've dozed off since I dreamt of the day I first studied in Japan. It was last year, actually.

* * *

_A Year Ago…_

My uncle dropped me off at school. He insisted that I should tour the school with him but I knew better. He thought I'd easily get lost in here, being a new student and all. but it's bad enough that he has to take care of me for the rest of the year. I don't want to cause him any more trouble by asking him to babysit me in school. Besides, he's going to be late for work. That's bad. And when I say _bad, _I mean **bad.** He tapped his index finger to his cheek, as if to gesture that I should give him a kiss goodbye. As awkward as it is, I gave him a small peck at his cheek and I dashed away. That was really, really, really embarrassing.  
I hope nobody saw that.

_DING DONG DANG DUNG~ DUNG DANG DONG DING~_

So that's what the school bells from Japan sound like. It's so loud even from a distance. Other than the few unwanted attention I get from the campus students, this place is great! I can't remember feeling so at peace. I wonder why they're rushing inside though. No need to worry, I'm here to have an adventure! And when I say "adventure", I meant dilly-dallying around the school with no where in mind to go to. I'm awesome that way. _fufu._

…

I looked around the campus where I'm going to study for the rest of the semester. Taking my time to check the place out, I must say I'm quite impressed.  
It's just like any ordinary schools you see; it's just a bit bigger in comparison. Okay, maybe 5 times bigger, but you get my point. There are so many places that've been waiting for me to explore! The beige buildings were posh and upper-class, as if they were made in the Victorian era, or something. Walls adorned with fancy paintings of famous revolutionary heroes. Chandeliers are hanging from the balconies. In every intersection of corridors, there are statues of the Greek gods in the middle (and boy they look so awesome). I saw about 7-9 huge courts as I roamed around the school (I wonder why they need that many though). There's even this beautiful garden filled with a bunch of flowers I don't even know existed! But that's not the best part yet! I saw this humongous swimming pool and I squealed like a pre-schooler! _…too bad I can't swim. _I scanned the room, checking if there were anybody else with me in the pool place.

_Not a soul! _I guess I can practice now. It's not like I'd get in trouble right?

"Hey. Hey you! Why aren't you in class yet? Classes have started 2 hours ago!" a buff gym teacher yelled.

…Busted. So much for floating lessons.

* * *

A teacher with gray hair in a bun stood at the front of the class. Even if she was a bit old-looking, I could tell that she was a very pretty woman when she was younger. She saw me staring at her, so she smiled while I looked at the sparkly ground because I find it really interesting. She asked me to stand next to her so I did though a bit reluctantly. It seems that the little expedition I made wasn't really a big deal for her since I don't feel any malice from her. I like her. Not strict, yet not lax. "Okay class. My name is Mrs. Tonaka. And the reason why I introduced myself is because we have a transfer student! Please introduce yourself." I can hear the murmurs of the class, and it's actually quite intimidating.

'transfer student in the middle of the year?'

'she looks so.. different'

'is she really a high school student?'

Huh. I guess this is my cue to introduce myself right? I have no idea though. My Japanese isn't really that…good. But judging by the expectant looks on their faces, I guess it _is_ my cue. Okay. I can do this. I'm here and there's no point in chickening out even if I wanted to (which I do, by the way).  
OH boy. I hope I don't mess it..!

"I-I'm—M-my name is… Y-Y-.. I'm f-from-…"

…OH Great. Nice job Yelena. Way to go build a good first impression. I just want to run away now. Run and never come back. Welp, I'm pretty sure the teacher would help me explain. She is the teacher after all. It's her job to clarify things. _Tch_. I can tell you all are laughing at me. Stop making those cheeky faces. I can hear you guys chuckling. Stop chuckling! …_sigh_… even the teacher finds it hilarious.

As she recomposed herself, she starts to introduce me in my place albeit wrongly.  
"...Pffft. ehem. Everyone, this is Yelena Zolnervolk. She's from Canada—"

"Um... America..." I spoke up.

"She's born in America-"she corrected.

"Um... I'm born here in Japan... "I lowered my head.

"..But wait. Mrs. Tonaka, her name doesn't sound like it came from Japan or America" a student questioned.

And then all eyes on me huh. Well, if you all judged me by appearance, it's quite obvious that I don't look Japanese.  
It's all because of my um... _Unique features_. I wonder why they haven't noticed it; they've been staring at me for like, forever. Despite their scary gaze, I might as well explain so they wouldn't be so confused; just as soon as I stop staring at my _very_ awesome black shoes. They look extra shiny today, by the way.  
Okay, back to the class.

"A-actually... I-I… I-..." If hearing crickets at the background was for real, then you would've heard it here too. The dead air is so silent, it's deafening. …Darn it! And here I thought I'm done with all this stuttering nonsense! We're all girls here so why do I have to be so nervous! Ah, I seem to forget to mention that I'm attending an all-girls school. My uncle said it was for safety precautions. I never understood a thing he says anyway.  
Such an over-protective teddy bear, he is. Aheh.

"Maybe we should talk about all this next time, Ms. Zolnervolk seems to be a bit disoriented at the moment and is having a rough time to adjust. Please give her a hand and help her get use to things around here, okay?"

"Yes" Everyone said; some half-heartedly, some amused. I just hope that they wouldn't do some kind of prank on me.

"Yelena-chan, I do hope you don't mind seating at the back part of the class. I'm afraid we don't have any more vacant seats up front. I'm sorry" I shook my head. I don't mind seating at the back. If anything, it's my favourite spot. I rarely get into trouble if I'm way back there.I could also get away with sleeping in class. Fufufu.

"You may now take your break"

And that's how my first day in school ended. Phew! Who would've thought I'd survive the whole day! I must admit that I underestimated school a teensy tiny bit but it doesn't matter, really. I can't wait to go home and take a long nice bubble bath and drink milk and sleep all day long and-

"Zolune-... Zoruno-… Kuru-chan? Why are you packing your bag? School doesn't end for about 6 more hours"

S-Six more hours? What? I glanced at my watch. 9:30am. Six hours is a long time! I don't even—I just wanted to- Aaww...  
But hey, wait a minute.

"Did you just call me 'Kuru-chan'?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't know you didn't like it... I just—"

"N-no! It's not that I don't like it... I just thought that...umm… only close friends are allowed to call other people by their given names or by nicknames so..."

"..Oh. Well, then I'll call you Kuru-chan then!"

"What does that mean, if you don't mind me asking..."

"Well, your name is actually kind of hard to pronounce, so I just named you whatever popped out from my mind! Ahehe~!"

"T-thank you..?" And here I thought I just met a nice girl who would totally be my friend. It's hard making new friends; especially when you're me. Oh, it's not that I'm a trouble maker or anything; it's just that I'm not that typical social-butterfly that hops from a person to another. I'm the type who sticks to one and only one person (which kind of explains why I'm such an introvert and why I'm bad at talking to people and somewhat a tad bit clingy). Instead, I met a girl who might be a bully who just gave me a weird nickname. I have a feeling that she's going to treat me like a pet.

"W-wait! No, I didn't mean it like that! Kuru-chan, I just meant that your name is hard to pronounce that it makes my head spin! You know, like 'kuru kuru'!" Her facial expression changed. She was fidgeting and I can tell that she was uncomfortable just as I was. She seemed panicked and worried. Did she think that I'm going to cry or something? Oh come on, I'm not a crybaby. I might look like it, but I'm not. Don't be fooled by looks, people.

"Hmmm.. At least you don't look sad as you were a while ago... Seriously, that face you did made me feel so bad. Like… like the whole world would… explode and it's all my fault!...just kidding. Ahehehe~, but seriously. I didn't even mean it that way! Promise!" the way she said those words… I knew it. She must've been reading my face. What is she, a fortune teller? _Technically, she should've been reading my palm and not my face.  
_Teehee, I made a joke. You know; the face and hand part? Ahehehehe. I'm so funny and awesome.  
I noticed that she's started shaking. Oh wait, she's snickering. What? Why? What did I do this time?  
She was trying to hold it in, but she burst out laughing.

"Pffftbwahaha~! Sorry, sorry! It's not that I'm laughing at you, Kuru-chan. It's just that—hehe—that your face.."

"M-my face?"

"N-n-n-no! Not like that! It's just that your face gives away whatever you're feeling. I can read you like an open book! But I guess that's not really a bad thing though. It's cute, actually. Plus, it'd be easy to tell when you're going to blow a fuse or not ...pffthahaha~!" She kept on laughing and laughing and talking and… Have I mentioned that she kept on laughing? I don't know if she hasn't realized, but I can't really understand most of what she's saying—er—what I meant to say was, I'm bad, no, horrible at Japanese. I know the basics, but that's not enough to keep a conversation going. And—Oh wow, I can feel my tummy rumbling. _I'm so hungry_…

"You must be hungry now, aren't you? Well I guess I wasted most of your time, so let's go grab a bite. My treat."  
I understood what she said, and it's music to my ears. Who doesn't want free food? Certainly not me. It's best to grab opportunities like this! To be fair, I guess I'll just have to treat this girl to food again next time. Oh wait.

"…W..s..y..u..n...e.."

"I'm sorry? I didn't quite get that"

"Wh..s…o..r…n..me.."

"Meh. Let's talk about that later, but right now, let's eat 'til we drop! But not literally!" then she grabbed my arm and we skedaddled as if our lives were at stake. Hmmm... I bet I could run faster than her… If only she would let go of my arm then I could-! Oh look, I ran right past her! _Bwahaha_~ I'm a better runner than she is! I'm faster and cooler and-!

"Kuru-chan? What are you doing? The cafeteria is this way, silly!"

- And I just made a complete fool out of myself. But before I could adjust my pacing, I slammed into an Apollo sculpture that looked so hot. I mean, really hot. Did he just wink at me? Oh gods I'm getting crazy.

"You _are_ talking crazy, Kuru-chan… That's just a weird human size figurine, it's not hot and it can't wink. Let's go, you're getting delusional." I can see genuine concern on her face. She helped me up and placed my arm around her neck. I feel a bit silly, but I just hope that I'm not giving her a hard time than it already is. I actually wanted to say 'I'm okay, I can stand' which is partly true; I just don't want to have too much physical contact with anyone. It's really embarrassing.

* * *

We reached the cafeteria and there I saw a buffet of food just waiting for me to eat. The aroma of it is so tempting I want to grab them all! "Na-uh" she said as she gently set me down on a chair. We sat at an empty table next to a huge water fountain (it's so pretty, I couldn't resist not sitting next to it). "I'll go grab us some food. You just sit there and take a rest, kay?" she said then ran to the counter. _grumble grumble. _I'm so hungry…  
I hope she brings me a glass of milk too..

As I slumped to the table, I could've swore I heard footsteps going to my direction. The moment I looked up, a bunch of girls (I could recognize the others as my classmates) started swarming around me. Their eyes were sparkling, as if they were expecting to see some kind of magic trick; which I found strange since I was minding my own business when suddenly they came along.

"Um—"

"Excuse me, but may we know your name?" it was obvious that she's trying to hold back her excitement, but I can't figure out what she's so fussy about.

"I um.. I'm Y-yelena… Yelena Zolnervolk…" for some reason, I find the table entertaining at the moment,  
so I glued my eyes on it.

"D'awwww! What they say is true!" and then they went nuts. What are they talking about? What's true? Did someone just start a rumor about me? Who does that, anyway? Whatever that rumor is,it's spreading like an H1N1 disease. _EW._

I could hear the others saying ' be quiet! I can't hear her voice!' while others say 'ask her to stand up' so the girl in front asked "Hey, hey! Can you stand up for us, just for a sec!". I know I was told to sit here and rest, but I doubt these people would leave me alone, so I stood. I wondered why, but another thought came into my mind. _I can't escape. _

"AWWW! She's so tiny! She's like a little kid!" _What did she just call me_? "Na-uh! She's too cute to be just a kid! She's a doll! I just want to glomp her and hug her and keep her in my bedroom!" _A doll? Seriously?_ _Stop calling me 'cute', fool! Imma mess you up! Mess you up big time! _Another girl approached me, and she was staring way too close for comfort. I could practically feel her breath all over my face. Doesn't she know anything about personal space? "Wow, her eyes are golden! Are you wearing contacts?" I could feel their expectant looks again. A girl from the back said "She must be a cosplayer!"

"AWWWWWW!"  
"Wow, that's so cool!"  
"Her hair is so pretty!"  
"Look at her, she's adorable!"

I don't know if they're trying to make fun of me, or they are just too excited to have a new transfer student. All I do know is, I don't like all this attention. I'm kind of getting scared now. I tried to walk away, but they surrounded me like a rat in a cage.

"HEY! Get away from Kuru-chan! I'll beat the crap out of you people, if I have to!" that familiar obnoxious voice made me feel a lot better. Even though I just met her a little while ago, I'm sure that I'd be safe around her. Wait. The crowd seems to lessen and they seem to avoid my fiercely proud friend. I need to learn how she does that. She ran towards me with a tray full of pasta and pizza. I guess they're serving Italian dishes today. Sweet! By the time that she's next to me, the crowd of people were gone as if they dissipated into thin air.  
That's awesome.

"Kuru-chan! Are you ok? Did they do anything to you?" I find it hilarious that she was worried-sick. I mean, it's not like they're going to do something horrible to me, aren't they?...Nah. They don't seem that bad. I guess they just really are die-hard cosplayer-fans. I shook my head. "Thank goodness… You know, I've had a lot of trouble w- Hey! Don't start eating without me!" I know it was rude, but boy am I hungry! So we wolfed down our food.

* * *

_DING DONG DANG DUNG~ DUNG DANG DONG DING~_

After six more hours of schooling, it was time to go home. I noticed the other girls who swarmed around me whispering to each other. I can't hear them clear enough, all the words I could make out were "take care of—" "going home" and "later". Those words could either be good or bad. Depending on how those words are used. I guess I'm being a bit too paranoid. I decided to just shrug it off. Oh lookie over there, it's my awesome bodyguard-friend-girl(_what?)._ She saw me staring at her then said "Ah! Sorry, Kuru-chan! I still have club stuffs to do so I don't think I could go home with you…"

A club? After all the stuffs we did a while ago, she still has the energy to do more activities like club practices? Man, she's a lively one. So I did what I normally do, bid my goodbyes and go straight home. As I walked down the corridor, I could've sworn she said something like 'let's hang out again tomorrow!'. I guess my first day isn't that bad as I thought.

I stood at the middle of the school's main gate.

"...How do I go home from here?"

_Uh oh_. No way. I don't remember where Uncle's house is..! It's not even a walking distance from here! What should I do? Oh what should I do? Oh! I remember! Uncle told me to wait for him! Yeah! The problem is, where did he ask me to wait? _Think, think, think_. Meh. I'll just wing it. I'll remember on the way, hopefully.

I wandered through the streets with my head held high. My bag slung over my back, my other hand kept inside my pocket. I looked like the typical bad boy—err—girl(or at least, I tried to act like one, just to fend off thugs).

'mama, why is that girl walking so awkward?'  
'that's nice, sweetie. Now let's go avoid that weirdo—that nice lady, okay?'

_Yeah. You people better run. _On the bright side, I think I remember where my uncle is supposed to pick me up. I remember him pointing to a specific café. And I think I just saw the right coffee shop. I dashed towards it. I kept running and running until a thought came to me… which made me stop at my heels.

"Where to, now?" I unconsciously said out loud. Damn. Why didn't I listen to my uncle when he was teaching me how to read all those katakana's and furigana's? Apparently, my uncle pointed at a maid café, not a coffee café. So yes, I am lost,I don't know what to do now, and I'm so useless. _sniff...sniff_… no. I'm not going to cry. I'm 14 years old-err- turned to 15(_wow..I sure am old_...). It's not normal for a 15 years old to cry when she's lost at the streets. It's too childish. No. I must stay strong! ..._sniff_…

"meow" _oh, it's a cute kitty cat._ "meooowww!" awww, she must be lost like I am (I assumed that the cat's a girl because it'd be weird if I'm talking to a male cat. Just. No.) I wanted to touch it, but it ran. Was it scared of me or something? Then I saw a dog chasing after it. Wait, I've seen this before. The last time I saw a dog chase after a kitten… it wasn't pretty. As the hero I always am, I followed the poor kitten in distress (_teehee. Kitten is kinda like maiden. Get it?)! _I think I saw them wander inside a… dark alley. _Uh oh_. My 'this-is-a-bad-place-to-be' senses are tingling. I've seen those shows. Where something terrible will happen to whoever enters there. I better get going before-

I turned around to see a dude with piercings all over his face with green-whatever's in his hair. Behind me, his lackeys are coming straight out from the dark alley. I was surrounded. I was alone and defenseless. I don't even have my trusty umbrella. Drats! Then their leader spoke. "Hello, kitty."

"pffffft."  
Okay. I guess it might've been a bad idea to snicker when I'm at a huge disadvantage here.  
But who could blame me? The guy just said "Hello Kitty"! It's Hilarious!

"What's so funny? Oh, you must be excited or something, huh? Don't worry, I'll entertain you real good!" that's when my instincts came up. Think, Yelena, think! You can't beat them with strength, but if I could just outsmart and outrun them…

The thug is reaching for my arm. "Come here, little kitty. Don't even try to do anything stupid. Just do what I say and you'll be fi-"As fast as I could, I gave the punk a good head-butt to his chin then jabbed my elbow straight into his stomach. He went down. His lackeys went straight for me, so I swiftly grabbed my 'intensely-hot' perfume and sprayed it into their faces. I made sure to give them a good kick to their stomachs before leaving. I heard them groan in pain. Curling my hands into fists then placing them at my hips, I did my victory pose, raising my hand in a peace sign, with a friendly grin that turned into a malicious smile that seemed ever-so smugly. _How's that for a little kitty, huh booger-head?_

Oh Glob.

I was about to make a run for it, when green-head got up to his feet and grabbed me by the collar, almost choking me. "You little bitch, I'm gonna make you cry out in pain so bad, you're gonna—" _BONK. _A basketball magically appeared and went hurdling straight into the ogre-head's face. _Serve's you right, you ugly ogre! _"The fuck just happened?" he yelled. Unfortunately for me, he didn't let go of my collar and his breath stinks. Glaring daggers at me, he's accusing me of throwing a basketball straight at him or maybe he saw me making a prune-ish expression (not my fault his breath needs a couple mints). The ball rolled down next to a pair of feet; probably who threw the ball. He picked the basketball up.

"It's not nice to talk to people that way, much less to a girl." The moment I heard his voice, I could feel my heart spinning. Or maybe it's because I'm almost choking to death. Nah, must be the latter. Or maybe both…

* * *

**Author's note (part 2!): So how was it? Not bad? Not good? Comments would be great, suggestions would be awesome! This first chapter seemed a bit too...lame. It's long and boring and really confusing, i know. but it's just-I mean, if I made a story about a girl who's in the same school as the basketball players,… I dunno. It won't be anything new. 'sides! I'm experimenting! :)**

**Oh, and if you guys were able to guess who that guy is,… you guys are good at guessing xP**

**Yuruya out!**


	2. So Sad

**Author's note: Hey y'all! I had to edit the first chapter a bit due to some… technical difficulties :  
Feel free to leave reviews, positive, negative, anything that would help is great! **

* * *

Everything was fine and dandy. If being chased by thugs who had faces that scream "I'LL KILL YOU!" was normal, then I must say that I had the most normal day of my life. Astonished how I manage to escape the booger-head's clutches? It's a funny story actually! Here's how it all started.

* * *

"Huh? Where did that voice come from?" the ogre face grunted. I couldn't help but face-palm. How could he _not_ see the person when he's in front of him? I couldn't tell if he was just mocking him, or if he was just plain stupid. I tried to struggle, but it was in vain. "Stay still, bitch!"

"Let her go" The bluenette demanded. Then the ogre dude saw him. He let out a huge "GAAAAAAHH! Where'd he come from?" scream. I seriously thought I was going to faint. _This guy seriously needs a mint or two… or three._ His flunkies had the same reactions. I mentally face-palmed. The bluenette spoke up. "How about a game of basketball. If I win, you let her go" was what he said.

"Ha? A basketball game? Against _you?" _ogre head started laughing afterwards. Being the flunkies they always were, they did what their leader did. I made a mental note to remember their ugly faces and teach them a lesson next time; when I'm stronger and more intimidating, that is. "What about if I win? What would I get, huh small fry?"

"You can have her." Seems like a fair tra- WHAT? What in the world is he talking about? That is NOT an okay thing to do. Absolutely a bad idea. The bluenette raised his thumb up as if saying that he's got everything under control. Again, I wanted to face-palm. Not that I'm belittling him or anything, but what are his chances of winning against a tall and medium-built weirdo like booger head right here? And it's highly unlikely that they're going to play fair. But it seems like they aren't going to play at all since I heard the ugly face say "Ha. Don't tell me what to do, punk. I don't wanna waste my time around small fries like you. Now, get lost!" Now that sounded really harsh, but the bluenette's face didn't falter. If anything, he was more serious now.

"I asked nicely" muttered the bluenette. I couldn't believe my eyes. In a flash, he disappeared into thin air, and then I heard some kind of rumbling near the trash cans in my right. I turned my head. We didn't see anything other than a basketball rolling slower by every second. Then something was thrown against ogre head's body from my left. I could've sworn it was a trashcan lid. The ugly ogre dude stumbled backwards, subsequently making a "Gwaa!" sound, making it a good opportunity for me to slip away from his grasp and escape as fast as I could. But before doing so, I made sure to send him greetings from Hell by kicking him where it hurts most (I could've swore I heard imaginary people going _'oohhhhhhh_! _That's gotta hurt!_'). I ran for the exit. Thankfully, the bluenette did so as well. But it's too early to be celebrating because shortly after, the ogre squad were tailing our behinds. I wanted to scream for help, but I was too focused on running because I was so scared that they might catch up to us.

We decided to not run farther away from the place and just stay near the vicinity, which is quite convenient for me since I don't want to get more lost. Though, I did try to point out the fact that the thugs might find us if we were in the area, or should I say, their territory. All I got from that was a mere shrug and a "No, They won't" which was fine by me.

_But I do wanna know why he suggested such a thing though_.

As we kept running, I could tell that the sceneries were getting more and more familiar to me. At first I thought I recognized my way home, but apparently I was actually returning to my school. _How does he know where my school is? _He was leading the way, and I just followed. So I tried to run just next to him so I could see him face to face; I wanted to ask him. _Oh wow, he's sorta cute up close. And… I bet he's really tired. His face just spells 'exhaustion'._

"Is something the matter?" he asked, looking at me at the corner of his blue eyes. _Ah… _For some reason, I think a cat caught my tongue. figuratively. I just shook my head and pretended that nothing ever happened. I guess you could say that I noticed that we were running in a pattern, as if we're running in circles. We kept passing by the same shops (I think I saw a maid café too), my school, everything. And he kept looking sideways, as if he's looking for someone (or maybe he's also a bit paranoid about the thugs as well). Then suddenly, he made a quick turn and ran as if he _is_ following someone. I wasn't able to follow him though, because the moment I came back into my senses, he was gone.

"…" I didn't know what to do, again. I didn't feel like running in circles again. I don't think that the thugs are still following us, they probably got tired and gave up. Thanks for running around in circles for like, a billionth times, I managed to remember how the sequencing of the place looks like. I looked at my watch. " 5 minutes to 7 o' clock…" I ran for about 3 hours. No wonder why my feet feels like jelly. As tired as I may be, I went straight to the maid café, hoping that I could see my uncle chilling there. _Tch, how dare he leave me alone like that? He made me run around like a fool. He's such a jerk and he sucks…sniff…_

The wind chimes clinked when I opened the door. "Welcome back, master!" a bunch of maids greeted. They were wearing incredibly short black skirts with white inner blouse (that seemed a bit too revealing) laced with a small black ribbon. They look cute, I guess, but they just seem so… so… uh, flirty… I was in a bad mood, and seeing those types of people makes me feel even worse. I _cannot believe my uncle is in to those. Oh wait, now that I think about it… I guess it is possible._ I sighed and was about to go to a table to take a seat when suddenly—

"YELENA ZOLNERVOLK. WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN ALL THIS TIME?"

-my uncle dashed between the maids and crushed-er- hugged me so gently. He kept complaining about how he searched the whole city for me, running back and forth and all that junk you here when a person complains. He also said that if it wasn't for the maids allurin- talking senses into him, he would've went straight to the police and asked them for help, or something. Honestly, I wasn't really paying much attention to him. I was tired and grumpy and I don't want to stay here anymore. I hate those thugs, the maids, that guy who left me, and this whole place! I really hate everything!

I guess he noticed something's wrong with me because he stopped talking. He brought out his handkerchief and started wiping my face. _Do l look sweaty or something?_ Then I realized _oh… I'm crying…_

_"_There, there. Look, I didn't mean to shout or anything, okay? It wasn't your fault. It's mine. Stop crying, okay?" it wasn't on purpose, but my cries seemed louder now. I was wailing like a kid who didn't get what she wants for her birthday. I guess that since I was already crying, might as well cry it all out. "Ah! Oh hey come on, d-did I do anything bad again? Ren-chan please stop crying. I'll uh… what do you want huh? Ice cream? Let's go buy ice cream now, okay?"

…Apparently, that _did_ make me stop crying. Ice cream sounds good at the moment. "phew. I'm so glad that's over" was what my uncled said with a tired face. Then it hit me, I was so selfish to think that I was the only one having a bad day. My uncle was worried-sick about me, looking for me like a psycho—er—a frantic mother. He wasn't even obligated to take care of me. He was nice enough to volunteer to take watch over me in my parents' stead. What do I do in return? Being a real pain in the ass. That's what I'm doing. I turned my gaze at him again, checking every detail of his tired face. So that's what different about him today, he looks really haggard and mussy; completely different on how he generally looks. As we exited the café, I could feel intense stares coming from the maids. Oh wait, they're glaring at me. _What did I do this time, damn it._

"Swear you're not angry at me anymore?"

"I never was angry at you, uncle. I was angry at everything else."

"…oh. What happened to you, by the way?"

"…Bad hair day, I guess"

It took him a while to understand what I said. Actually, he was still deciphering what it meant while I quickly got in the car, grabbed my favourite white-pillow-thing-bear(?) and placed it on my face, as if to make myself to stop breathing.

"What do you mean, 'bad hair day'?"

All I could muster to say was a bunch of muffled sounds. He said that I should remove take that bear-pillow-thing off my face but I didn't want to. Sighing, he ruffled my hair with a calm smile on his face. He was about to say something but...

* * *

My dream ended when a flight attendant gently shook my shoulder. "Ma'am, it's time to wake up. We have safely arrived to our destination." Squinting my eyes, I took a peek at my window. It's really dark out. The pilot's voice was heard through the speakers saying "the time is 8:21pm. We have arrived in Japan. Thank you for flying with us." Or something remotely close to that.

For some reason, I wasn't that excited to go to Japan as I used to. Maybe last year's nightmare was too much for me. Oh well, this time, it's only for the summer vacation. _Just 3 months then I'll be out of here _I thought. I quickly gave myself a light slap on my cheek. _What in the world am I talking about? My uncle is gonna murder me if he heard me say that! _Might as well pretend to have a good time, just so that he wouldn't be glum like I was.

Grabbing my things, I got up to meet with my uncle. I was on my way to the main building of the airport when something caught my eye. A spur of blue at a distance. I didn't notice myself running towards it, up until I bumped into someone I least expected to see. "Oh. Hi uncle."  
"What's with you? Sounds like you're not too happy to see me... Lemme see that beautiful smile, huh? C'mon. I know you want to~!"he said in a sing-song way. I wasn't really in the mood, and I just wanted to make sure that what I saw was really... "Sorry uncle, but I really need to go to the restroom. It'll only take a sec!" I felt bad for lying, but it was just this once. "I'll wait for you here then" uncle said, apparently oblivious to what I was planning to do.

I sprinted to where I last saw that spur of blue. That bluenette sure walks fast for someone who didn't have long legs. I tried to run faster. Catching my breath, I felt that same feeling I had back then. _Gone again, huh?_ Sighing, I begrudgingly made my way back to where I left my uncle. He didn't seem to be bothered by the fact that I left since he was playing with his PSP. "Back already? That's good. Wanna grab dinner first before going home, though? I'm starving!" he said with a goofy grin. I could tell that he was in a really good mood. "You defeated Nyx in Maniac Mode?" I asked. "You bet! Ha! In your face, Igor!" I wondered briefly who was the mature one here.

I guess none of the two of us were.


End file.
